I don’t know if my mum ever made me this outfit for my dolls, but I remember the pattern from being a kid.
The pattern was made for Robin 4-ply acrylic yarn, a yarn produced by Wool company Thomas B. Ramsden, not far from where I live.
Because of the coronavirus we’re all limited on using what we have on hand so I used Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift which comes in more colours than you can imagine and 25g balls which is a great size for small projects.
Anyway, it’s a nice pattern, quite easy and all worked on straight needles. The only thing that bothered me was the number of ties the outfit had. Ties for the apron, cape and hat, plus my added ties for the face mask was all too cumbersome so I adjusted that.
The dress is worked in four parts and sewn together. There’s no markings for the arm placement so it might be something to be aware of when sewing up.
I replaced the neck ties with a tiny icord around the apron using the spare 2 stitches either side of the apron top. I also added a ribbon tie rather than knitted one because I’m not a fan of knitted ties. I sewed this across the waist to add a belt effect.
The hat also had ties in the pattern, but I replaced these with a press stud since the hat was wide enough to attach in this way and I sewed the corners of the hat down to make it look better.
The cape again had ties around the neck. I increased 5 stitched at the start of one of the garter stitch rows near the neck of the cape. I then knitted 2 rows of garter stitch then a cast off row. This added a tab on the neck which fitted a small snap fastener.
Finally I added a face mask, knitting a 10 stitch square with garter edges all round. I sewed ribbon ties to attach the mask, but I think if I made it again I’d sew a loop of thin elastic instead to hold the mask over the head.
The pattern is now out of print which usually means it’s hard to find, but I am selling it in my Etsy shop for £1, yep! just a quid.
I hope you enjoy making the pattern, the nurse outfit is of the old style, but still recognisable as a nurse and the dress is a good dress pattern which can be used for other things.
If you make the pattern please add a photo in the comments section so we can all see it.
Betty Virago 